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Mary Havens: The Reading Challenge (TRC) 2025

Reference Librarian/Associate Professor

What is TRC?

  1. The Reading Challenge is a year long (January 1st - December 31st) challenge.
  2. Any book read during this challenge, that fulfills a category, applies!
  3. Only one book per category, please.
  4. It cannot be a book you have read before unless otherwise indicated (example: revisit a childhood favorite). 
  5. Once you sign-up, you will be added to a Google Sheet where you can keep track of what books you read.
  6. A list of suggested ACC titles is available. 

Questions? Email Mary at mary.havens@austincc.edu

Suggested Titles

black book that looks like a book of matches on a red background

Under 200 Pages Category - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

black human body silhouette on a blue background with yellow stars

New York Times Best Seller Category - The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel A. van der Kolk

white cover with red lettering, white mouse at the bottom

Published the Year You Were Born Category - Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

African American young girl behind cauldron with green liquid in front a pink vapor with a cityscape in the background

Pink Cover Category - The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

young girls, one black and one white, stand under an arch with their luggage at a camp ground

Queer Author or Characters Category - Wish You Weren't Here by Erin Baldwin

hand holding ornate chain with red stoned ring, a scorpion on the wrist, and an ornate red sleeve with white lace cuff

Book by an Author You Enjoy Category - The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

two arms projecting out of ocean waves, one holding a peace sign, the other holding a bottle of champagne

ACC Book Club Pick Category - The Wedding People by Alison Espach

five black and white photos showing many people in lines next to bombed out buildings, train cars, barren landscapes

We're All Human Category - The Long Road Home by Ben Shephard

woman with back turned gazing out an ornate window by a fancy desk, typewriter, with water rising by the desk

Detective Book Category - A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

young woman sitting at a desk with a pencil in her hand, writing in a journal, with red roses around her

Flowers on the Cover Category - Julieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu

blue and gray cover with snake, peony flowers, thorns, and scepter

Romantasy Category - The Serpent & the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

woman's face in profile looking up, short afro

Title Starts with "C" Category - Coming Home by Brittney Griner

stone carving relief of winged four legged creature in profile

Set in the Middle East Category - The Epic of Gilgamesh by Anonymous

black title letters over orange Kleenex box with white tissue coming out of the top

Features Health Category - Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

forest tree canopy with orange sunlight shining through

Features Joy Category - How We Live is How We Die by Pema Chödrön

yellow green blue title letters on gray background

Features Courage Category - Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

African American woman in white and gold sweater with arms folded

Features Compassion Category - The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

white flower wrist corsage with blue ribbon on a green background

Features Yes Category - Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

five young adults sitting on the steps in front of a large gate with a manion and full moon in the background

Book Features the Occult Category - Night of the Living Queers edited by Shelly Page

woman in sun hat and black swimsuit sitting in innertube on the water with a light blue background

Dysfunctional Families Category - The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

cream, red, and pink title words with pink and red backgrounds with a gold crown on the word essays

Concerns Feminism/Feminists Category - Don't Call Me Princess by Peggy Orenstein

young girl sitting in a saddle on a black and white pony

Indigenous Author or Characters Category - Bad Indians by Deborah A. Miranda

pink hood silhouette like a person is filling it out but it's just arms, daisy flowers, one arm holds a mirror on a yellow background

Book Set at a Hotel Category - A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez

red cover with a small, sepia toned photo of a young girl sitting on a horse

Reminds You of Your Childhood Category - The Liars' Club by Mary Karr

black and white photo of a busy city street, around 1890s

Classic You've Never Read Category - Ulysses by James Joyce

cowboy on a horse that is going on a decline in a rocky area

Western Category - The Log of a Cowboy by Andy Adams

beige background with a branch with two leaves, all with brown and blue colors

Concerns Immigrants/Immigration - The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The 2025 Reading Challenge

Join TRC!

What are the categories?

**Categories can be completed in any order**

Essential

  1. Under 200 Pages
  2. New York Times Best Seller (any year)
  3. Own But Haven't Read
  4. Published the Year You Were Born
  5. Book You Got for Free
  6. Pink Cover
  7. Ask a Librarian or AI Chatbot (based on your favorite book)
  8. Book By An Author You Enjoy
  9. Queer Author or Characters

Advanced (essential categories plus the following)

  1. ACC Book Club Pick 
  2. We're All Human (kindness/race relations)
  3. Detective Book
  4. Flowers on the Cover
  5. Romantasy
  6. Title Starts with "C"
  7. Set in the Middle East
  8. Features Health
  9. Book Featuring Joy
  10. Book Featuring Courage
  11. Book Featuring Compassion
  12. Book Featuring Yes
  13. Book Featuring the Occult
  14. Dysfunctional Families
  15. Concerns Feminism/Feminists
  16. Indigenous Author or Characters
  17. Book Set at a Hotel
  18. Reminds You of Your Childhood
  19. Classic You've Never Read
  20. Western
  21. Concerns Immigration/Immigrants
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